CFTC: USD longs added, EUR shorts increased – ANZ
Irene Cheung, Senior Strategist at ANZ, lists down the CFTC positioning data for the week ending 12 July 2016.
Key Quotes
“Leveraged funds increased their bullishness on the USD, adding USD1.5bn to bring their net long positions to USD7.8bn for week ending 12 July. Positive economic data from the US last Friday, including strong retail sales and IP, has stoked expectations for Fed rate hike and added to the DXY’s recovery.
For the week, funds added USD2.6bn to their net short EUR positions, taking the overall to USD13.6bn, the highest since January 2016. Meanwhile, funds increased their net GBP shorts by USD0.7bn to USD3.1bn. This position may have been unwound slightly after BoE surprised markets by keeping rates unchanged on 14 July. At any rate, the central bank has indicated possible easing in August.
On the JPY, leveraged funds added USD0.2bn to take their net long JPY positions to USD6.3bn, the highest since December 2011. However, price action after the cut-off date suggests some pare-back of long JPY positions as the JPY weakens on market expectation of possible announcements of fiscal monetary measures following PM Abe’s win in the upper house elections.
Commodity currencies saw a net buying against the USD for a third consecutive week. Leveraged funds raised their net NZD longs by USD0.1bn to USD1.9bn, while returning to a net long CAD position of USD0.3bn after staying short in the last three weeks. Funds also increased their net AUD longs by USD1.3bn, the biggest weekly increase this year, to USD1.4bn.
Leveraged funds were bullish on EM currencies, with all three currencies under focus seeing net buying against the USD. Funds reduced their net short MXN position by USD0.3bn, and added to their net long BRL and RUB positions by USD0.04bn and USD0.09bn respectively.
Risk on sentiment saw funds reduce their net long gold contracts, the first time in six weeks. However, net long contracts in 10-year UST rose to 114,700, the highest since April 2013.”